The 25 Best Cities to Flip a Home

To determine the 25 best cities for home flipping, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed return on investment figures from RealtyTrac’s analysis of 112 metropolitan areas. These figures are based on the pre-flip and post-flip average price for homes over the 12 months through the end of 2015. RealtyTrac defines flipped homes as properties “sold as part of an arms-length sale for the second time within a 12-month period.” Returns represent gross profit and do not include costs such as repairs and maintenance. RealtyTrac also provided cash sales figures as of fourth quarter of 2015, as well as median sales prices and median purchase prices for flippers. We also reviewed home price data from the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA) and unemployment rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Median household income, poverty rates, the percentage of households earning $10,000 or less, and $200,000 or more, came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey. Violent crime rates are from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2014 Uniform Crime Report.